


The Mysterious Disappearance of Ryan Bergara

by AWrites



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Chapter three deleted because it was an author's note that doesn't apply now, Depression, Drug Use, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, One sided, Slow Burn, Tag Update: 5/14, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, Underage Smoking, including:, toxic relationship?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-01-18 13:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12389268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWrites/pseuds/AWrites
Summary: Shane just couldn’t live knowing that. That’s not how he had planned things. It just wasn’t right. So, he just left. Things would work out in the end. Everything will become how it should be. But, how it should be, and how things are rarely are the same thing. The universe has a funny way of throwing curveballs in life to keep us from living in our own ideal utopia, to keep us level headed.And the universe pitched this to Shane, who so naively thought he could do what he did and just leave Ryan to deal. He knew Ryan depended on him as his confidant, he knew he was Ryan’s rock. He still left.Ryan was alone because of Shane.Until, of course, Shane was alone because of Ryan.





	1. The Boy Who Gained Everything When He Found His Best Friend

_Now, before I start this, I'd just like to thank my beta (you know who you are) and @definetlyryanbergara on tumblr for sharing my poll. It means a lot, and I cannot thank you enough. Another big thank you to everybody who voted on it! I was surprised about the amount of attention it received, and your voices were heard. Your votes helped me make up my mind about certain aspects in this. Now that I have the answers I was looking for, I’ve deleted that blog. It is no longer useful to me._

_I wish to make it explicit that everything written is fictional and it is not my intentions to give the impression that this would ever happen. I respect Shane and Ryan’s relationships with their lovely girlfriends (honestly Sara and Helen are the sweetest), and I want to make it quite clear that this is all for fun. I would never want my writing to cause any stress in any of their relationships, both the ones they have with their spouses, and their platonic friendship. I believe the two have a good platonic chemistry, and I acknowledge that their relationship is just that._

_There are sensitive topics mentioned later on in this, including (non-graphic/mentioned) sexual relationships, depression, drug and alcohol usage, smoking, homophobia (mentioned) and (mentioned) character death. If any of this bothers you, or could trigger you in any way, I’d advise against reading. If any of the triggers change, I will adjust the warning accordingly in each chapter. Each chapter will have individualized warnings as needed._

_And yes. I did lessen their age gap for the sake of this._

_A_

_(p.s. sorry the author's note is basically the length of this chapter, I swear these will get longer)_

* * *

 

_ 1992 _

_ “Hi! I’m Shane, and I really really like to play soccer. You wanna play with me?” Six year old Shane asked me. I nervously glanced to mom, who gave an encouraging nod. “Go ahead Ryan, don’t be shy,” was all it took for me to scramble up from my seat in the grass and over to this new boy.  _

_ “Uh, sure I’ll play soccer with you. I’m not very good at it though. You gotta go easy on me.” I was still nervous around him. Could you blame me? Mom always told me “no talking to strangers”, yet she seemed like she wanted him to talk to this strange boy. Why?! They don’t know anything about him. For all we know, he could be like one of those jerks from school. Looking back, she had good intentions at heart. She just wanted me to have a friend. _

_ “How ‘bout I help you! I scored a goal on my soccer team last year! Coach Fred said I could probably beat a fifth grader!” My eyes widened.  _

_ “Woah? You can beat a fifth grader?” I asked, in awe. Oh the things kids are amazed by... _

_ Shane shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, probably. I can teach you how too if you want!” _

_ Mom told me about how she watched us play that day. She said from the instant Shane walked over, she already knew this was going to be different for me.She said she had never seen me interact with anybody else the same way, not even now. I was loud, and laughing, and smiling with another kid my age. She knew from the beginning.  _

 

It was the summer of 1992 that the Madej’s moved next to the Bergera’s.The young couple was glad to be in the company of the other, especially with their sons being the same age. The families quickly became like one, and Ryan’s mother was right. Shane and Ryan became close friends very quickly. The two balanced each other out with their differences and they just had a natural, awesome relationship at six years old than most do in their entire lives.

Ryan was an easily frightened and timid boy. He was fascinated by stories of beasts and magical creatures almost as much as he was intimidated by them. He feared that some beast would end up hurting himself, or his family. Socializing was another thing that bothered Ryan. Most kids thought Ryan was weird because of his fascination with the unknown. He got laughed at a lot. So, he typically kept to himself. The only exception was when Shane was around. With him Ryan was loud and boisterous. He found more confidence when he was with Shane, his fears seemed to lessen around his friend.

Shane, on the other hand, was an outgoing and observant boy. Like Ryan, he too had a fascination for beasts and magical creatures, yet he didn’t share Ryan’s beliefs nor fears. Because none of those creatures existed. Except for bigfoot. Bigfoot _most definitely_ existed. Shane flourished in a social environment. He could easily talk to anyone, about anything. Ryan was jealous of this, but he was glad he was included in conversations with Shane. Shane always made sure Ryan had a spot with him. Ryan was his brother, by choice, not by blood, and nobody could tell him otherwise.

They bonded over their shared interest, which led to the creation of the “Little Creature Hunters”, which consisted of the two. They created it after Ryan mentioned he tried starting it at school, but nobody showed up to the first meeting. (He went home crying, but Shane doesn’t need to know that.) Shane decided they were going to make the club together, and it was going to be better than a club at school. They got their parents to let them stay up late (until _eight o’clock!)_ on Friday’s for them to have meetings. The families would have a bonfire in one of their backyards, with s’mores and a storytelling contest. Other times, the trio would have a sleepover and they would make a blanket fort, where they would read _Goosebumps_ with flashlights until they fell asleep (so, like, nine o’clock).

As the “Little Creature Hunters” turned into “Big Creature Hunters”, their club meetings became far and few between, other things catching their interests. But, they always found ways to discuss theories…

 

_1999_

“Pssst, Shane. I have this great new theory-”

“Ryan. For the love of god. It is three a.m. Go to sleep.”


	2. A Mother's Intuition

Quick heads up before you read this! I made some changes to the flashback in the last chapter. I didn’t change anything, content wise, but I did change the format a little bit. I’d recommend reading that before this so it won’t be confusing.

A

* * *

_1996_

_I remember running down the field, as fast as I could, trying to catch up to the boy on the other team who had just taken the ball from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shane running up the other side of the field, backing me up. I caught up to the boy and stole the ball back, changing direction back down the field. I turned to Shane, who winked twice. I was taken aback for a moment, I will admit, and I got this funny feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_That was one of the first times I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach. I just didn’t know what it was at the time. I nearly forgot about the codes we had made up to come up with plays in real time. Shane said it was necessary because “plays never work out as you plan, opponents are unpredictable. We need a way to communicate to get things back on track”.  Ten year old Shane was woke._

_He wanted me to fake the next opposing defense out, and then pass the ball to him. I did just that, and with ten seconds to spare Shane scored another goal. We just won nationals!_

_Our team excitedly surrounded us, celebrating our play that got us our last minute score. Too bad I barely remember this. I was too focused on Shane, his breathless smile, his rosy cheeks, his new haircut.... That funny feeling found its way back into my stomach and he felt his face heat up. At the time I thought my adrenaline from the game had just caught up to me, now that it was over and the entire team had gathered around us. From what Shane has recalled about it, it was like a mosh pit of little excited ten year olds, high-fiving and hugging each other. Too bad I barely remember the other’s. Seems like it would’ve been a treat._

 

After their initial meeting, Shane was always there for Ryan. Even as children, Shane stood up for Ryan and acted as an older brother would. They were basically brothers, anyways. They were inseparable and never spent a day apart.

Shane kept his word the first day they met, and he taught Ryan how to play soccer. It didn’t take long for Ryan to catch on either, he would practice even after Shane had to go home for dinner. His parents would have to drag Ryan inside to eat and do homework.

Ryan’s mother took notice to this. Seeing her son act this way only helped confirm the speculations she had made about him. She refused to say anything to anyone. It was something he would figure out himself, and she would wholeheartedly support him. Until then, she would let her son live in a drama free world. She didn’t think it would stay that way for long...

The two boys also joined boy scouts together at this age. They loved everything about it, they felt like true explorers. Their favorite things about scouts had to be camping. What’s not to like about sharing a tent with your best friend? The only thing they looked forward to more than camping with the scouts was being able to camp alone when they get older. Their parents agreed that they would be allowed to camp in the woods behind their houses when they get old enough. That’s _so cool!_ Especially because it’s rumored that Bigfoot made a home deep in the woods there. When the boys heard about that, they begged their parents to let them camp there. After they finally said yes, they started planning it. That night would be _perfect._

 

_2000_

_“Am I supposed to be surprised by this?” He asked, not bothering to look up from his phone._

_“Seriously, dude?!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. Here I am, trying to tell my best friend something life changing, and it’s like he doesn’t care. He looked up from over the top of his phone._

_“I’m sorry, do you want to redo this? I can have a bigger reaction if you’d like.”_

_God he's such a piece of work._

* * *

Hello! Thanks so much for reading! I do plan on changing my author notes to after the chapter ends, but I wanted to let you know about the change in the last chapter before you read this. I’d also just like to say that I am incredibly shocked as to the response of my other works posted. I am so glad that they were enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy this as it goes along.

I also have an unfinished Halloween one-shot that I wasn't able to finish because of midterms. If you would be interested in reading this, despite it being late, let me know! I'll definitely get it out if there's interest.

A

~~i keep saying these will be longer, i promise next chapter is gonna be much more lengthy... i've got plans~~


	3. Youthful Ignorance

_1998_

_“Come on dude, hurry up! I want to get our tent set up soon so we can go exploring!”_

_“Shane, we promised our parents we wouldn’t stray too far from where we promised to stay,” I reminded him._

_“Whatever. Don’t be such a buzz kill man! What they don’t know won't hurt them. Unless you plan on snitching.” Shane stopped in his tracks, turning to me. His abruptness nearly caused me to bump into him. It was the end of summer and the lights cascaded through the trees, surrounding Shane. I would almost be cliche enough to say he looked magical, had it not been for his sudden change in demeanor. His shadow blocked the sun, as his glare rivaled Dad’s after I broke Mom’s good vase._

_“Well?” Shit. What did he say?_

_“_ _I asked if you were planning on snitching.” Note to self, stop saying my thoughts aloud if I want to make it through this._

_“Uh, no, no. I wasn’t gonna rat us out.” Shane smiled, turning back around._

_“Good.”_

_By this time I realized I felt different about Shane. The butterflies in my stomach occurred more frequently around Shane. I stopped making excuses about why I only felt that way around him. I didn’t know what it meant though. I had an idea, but I denied it. Who could blame me? I was a kid. A young, innocent kid._

 

They boys had finally convinced their parents that they were old enough to go camping by themselves. Sure, they were technically camping in Shane’s back yard, but they were just past the tree line! That’s a start!

The two were quickly able to get their tent set up (visible from Shane’s house, of course) and they took off exploring. They had already been through these woods many times, but they always had one of their parents with them. Their independence was exhilarating.

“Hey Ry, did you make sure to bring your camcorder?” Shane asked.

“Yeah! Almost forgot. It’s in my jacket pocket. See!” Ryan proudly held up his Sony Night Vision camcorder for Shane to see.

“Coooool. You’re sure it’s not one of the recalled ones, right? I don’t want ya sneakin’ a peek at me, that’d totally be gay, man.” Shane laughed. Ryan awkwardly laughed with him.

“Do you really think my parents would let me have a camcorder that could see through clothes? Imagine what type of world that would be.”

“Well it wouldn’t be that different if you think about it. You’d still be jacking off to how you imagine boobs to be because you’d be too scared to use it, like you’re too scared to look at porn.” This set the boys off into a fit of laughter.

“Oh shut up Shane,” Ryan wheezed while he laughed.

“What! We’re both guys, we can talk about that. Plus it’s normal! What’s not normal is you wearing that jacket. It’s like eighty degrees. You look ridiculous.”

“It has extra pocket room! Plus, it keeps the bugs off me.” Ryan countered. “Just take it off dude, don’t need you fainting or something. I’ll leave you for the ‘Squatch if you do.” Grumbling, Ryan agreed, tying his jacket around his waist. “Happy now?”

Shane burst into giggles again. “You look like a kid.”

“Oh shut up,” Ryan laughed, pushing Shane. “Come on, let's go catch the ‘Squatch.”

Despite their best efforts, the boys were unable to produce any evidence of Bigfoot. Instead, they got plenty of footage of each other, taunting and calling the beast. They two settled into the tent after their dinner of cold Chef Boyardee, straight from the can. The tight quarters never bothered them much. Growing up together diminished their range of personal space. The two often shared sleeping quarters and waking up with their limbs tangled together was a common, despite their attempts to maintain personal space. Shane awoke cold the next morning to find Ryan rigidly cocooned in his blanket, across the tent.

_2001_

_“Would, uh, would it be okay if I asked for a personal favor?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, in 1998 Sony did have a scandal because they sold 700,000 night vision cameras that could see through clothing. Enjoy that piece of trivia.  
> I apologize for the long wait. I’ve actually had written for quite some time, but some things came up and it never got beta-d until recently. I’ve also been trying to write ahead so when I post I’m not starting from scratch (if that makes sense). My hiatus was partially because of school and some personal stuff, and partially because I fell behind in Unsolved (because of the prior) and I’ve gotten into a good enough position to continue my writing.  
> As I mentioned before, I do have a tumblr for my Ao3 (it’s awritesao3 because I am quite original) but I’m not sure how active I’ll be on it. I currently have one post. From who knows when. I may make it a side blog, I may not. The world may never know. But feel free to stop by and say hello! 
> 
> Also, would you all like me to start adding chapter summaries? It's not something I've put much thought into, but I'm definitely willing to do it if you all are interested!
> 
> Have a wonderful day! 
> 
> A
> 
> (oh, and the jacket part had a significant meaning when I initially wrote it, but I can't recall what that was. whoops.)


End file.
